Coloring (and drawing) isn’t just for kids

The Huffington Post posted an article today called, “Coloring Isn’t Just For Kids. It Can Actually Help Adults Combat Stress.” 

YES.

A typical coloring page circa 1975.

So can drawing. This is one of the core principles of Zentangle and quite possibly one of the main reasons I was drawn (ha! a pun!) to this art form. Not surprisingly, I was quite addicted to coloring as a kid, too. I had your run-of-the-mill coloring books, plus those cool pattern and design coloring books (the likes of which are also now peddled as coloring books for adults). I distinctly remember having something called The Uncoloring Book which had a thought and maybe a part of a drawing on each page and challenged you to finish the drawing in your own way. I loved that, especially when I went through that phase where all I could think of to draw was a house. With flowers and trees around it. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. (Please tell me I wasn’t the only kid who lacked a clue of what to draw for a couple of years?)

Anyway, the point of all this is that, like Zentangle, the article asserts:

In simplest terms, coloring has a de-stressing effect because when we focus on a particular activity, we focus on it and not on our worries. But it also “brings out our imagination and takes us back to our childhood, a period in which we most certainly had a lot less stress.” This leads us immediately and unconsciously to welfare, exposes the specialist.

When I’m drawing (and in the past, when I made beaded jewelry this was also true), I’m in a zone. I’m thinking about each stroke of the pen, each tangle or pattern, how I might shade them to bring out a dimensional effect, and what embellishments I might add. Note, I am NOT thinking about what anyone else might think of the piece, what laundry I have to fold, which kid needs a kick in the pants, or anything related to demand generation or digital marketing (my day job).

Interested in learning more? Get in touch. I’d be happy to direct you to more resources or teach you or your group the Zentangle method.